Penny for Your Thoughts
by LKrioLynn
Summary: In which Castiel, injured, decides to think about everything.


Title: Penny for Your Thoughts

Fandom: Supernatural

Characters: Castiel, Sam and Dean Winchester

Word count: 1208 (minus A/N)

Author's Note: I wrote this at my mom's reception/wedding party… Ynki had been talking about fanfiction, in particular one about pie~ lol. This is not it. This is an injured!Castiel musings fic. Set somewhere between the French Mistake and the end of the series… :3 Destiel if you squint really hard, shut one eye and tilt your head…and then shut your other eye. :3

"Cas!"

Castiel's eyes slid closed slowly, barely hearing Dean's shout. As he pitched forward he braced himself for more pain, but he never hit the ground. He decided not to see who had caught him and to pass out instead.

It was dark in this place, which was odd. Even when he went into his meditative state there was an overabundance of light. He was an angel of the Lord, a celestial being made of light. This fact made it all the more odd that there was none. He made to wander around the darkness, but he wasn't sure if he was really moving or not. There was no way to judge anything, no perception of anything except the darkness. Castiel was scared. Once he realized that, the darkness didn't seem so dark.

"Cas, you with me man?" Dean. Yes, Castiel remembered now. He was scared for the Winchester brothers. Raphael had done something, taken them away.

"Castiel, can you hear us?" Sam. Transported them to another universe they said. Transported them to a universe where angels and magic didn't exist. One where they were just actors playing the parts of the unfortunate Winchester family.

Sam suddenly grabbed hold of his shoulders and shook, "Castiel! Open your eyes buddy!"

Then he left them. He left them to fend for themselves while he took care of that stupid civil war in heaven. What had possessed him to do that? Why had he left? The Winchesters, even Bobby, were his family far more than the heavenly host. Ah, that was the reason.

"Cas, come on!" There was a pressure on his stomach, Dean was pressing quite hard there for some reason.

He had to leave them. He had to keep them safe. Castiel coughed up something, something liquid, as he thought. He had to fight the war to keep the Earth and by extension, his humans, safe. That didn't prepare him for the fight. It didn't make it OK to systematically annihilate his siblings, his enemies. He never wanted to hurt them, but when it came time to choose he chose them. He chose his humans, and by extension the Earth, to fight for.

"Cas, Cas, Cas, come on!" Castiel felt himself being moved. It hurt. It hurt a lot. He didn't know why it hurt though.

No, Castiel thought, he knew. He took a major blow from Raphael. Vital, if one were to use correct terms and happened to be human. Castiel was not human, a fact that was firmly in his mind at all times. He would heal the wound eventually, but be out for the count until it was healed. He knew that, the Winchesters didn't. Though they should by now.

"Dean, maybe Cas…maybe Cas can heal this?" Sam was always the one who thought of the possibilities.

While Dean could fight and charm his way into almost any information, it was Sam who planned the successful hunts. Sam read all the lore, Sam scanned the internet, scanned the newspapers and magazines; Sam did almost all of it. Dean did help a little bit, but it really was not his forte. To be in the middle of information, that was Sam's territory. Of course, Sam could fight. John taught his boys well. It was just that Sam preferred the books. He probably always would.

"I don't know Sammy, look at that! Even I would go to a hospital for that!" If Dean ever admitted that then Castiel must be in sorry shape.

Dean was the almost-perfect soldier. 'Almost-perfect' in the sense that he had one hell of an attitude; he used it mostly to protect himself and always to protect Sam. He lived for Sam, and had been living for him since the night his mother died. The training and hunting with his father did nothing to change that. Dean was strong, he lived through so much. He died and went through too much and when he was brought back he just went through more. Both of the Winchesters did. It saddened Castiel. Saddened, wasn't that a human emotion?

"Just calm down Dean, he's lived through worse. Remember?" Castiel had the urge to smile at Sam's logic. What was wrong with him? Angels don't find amusement in humans.

Angels are supposed to love humans, as they love their Father. They are supposed to watch over and protect the humans. The humans were their Father's most beloved creations. It was an angel's duty, his duty, to protect them. So he did every chance he got. Castiel didn't think his father would mind that he mainly protected a select few humans. They were humans, after all. They were his humans; they tried to teach him about the human world. They laughed with, well, mostly at him. They cried for him, though later they would deny it. They called him a friend, even a brother. He was a member of their tiny family, and they were his. After all, angels were supposed to love humans.

"Cas!" Castiel cracked his eyes open, "Cas, man, are you ok?"

"Don't ask stupid questions…" Sam cracked a smile, but Dean took it far too seriously.

"What's the matter, Cas? Is there any way I can help?" Castiel looked directly into Dean's eyes. Dean looked serious, like normal.

If Dean wasn't serious then he was joking. It was like he only had two settings. It was a source of curiosity for Castiel. He liked to see how Dean's eyes would change from joking to serious and back, while his face remained the same. Castiel liked to see Dean's facial expressions change, wondering how to make them himself. Wondering what emotion would be necessary to make them. He liked to see the relaxed face that Dean made while asleep, before the nightmares came. He didn't like the way Dean's face would contort into a painful expression when the nightmares arrived. Castiel liked to watch Dean.

"I will heal, Dean…It will just take me a while." Castiel's eyes slowly slid closed again. Dean nodded.

"Cas, we're taking you to the room. Just so you know where you are when you wake up." Dean looked away quickly and Castiel sighed. Castiel closed his eyes again and relaxed.

It was good to see the Winchesters, even if he wasn't really seeing them. He really liked the brothers. Now, even to him, his musings were sounding even odder. Of course he liked the Winchesters, look at his track record for them. Look at Dean's in particular. He's pulled one from hell, well, one and a half technically, and restored them both many times. He'd fallen from grace for the Winchester brothers, even if it was more Dean than Sam.

Castiel turned his head into a strong chest (probably Dean's) and sighed quietly. He hurt, bad. He would live, most likely. It was nice to have someone worrying over him though. He never knew that it could be so nice to have people care for him. Castiel smiled, he liked the Winchesters. Yes, he liked them a lot. If given the choice he'd do everything over again, although less painfully. His smile faded a bit as he slipped back into the darkness to heal, but didn't completely disappear. Dean noticed.

"Cas?"


End file.
